Pinopolis Methodist Church – Pinopolis, South Carolina

Pinopolis United Methodist Church in the Berkeley County “pineland village” of Pinopolis formed as a place to worship for people who retreated to this quiet, shaded community during the summer months. In 1887 land was given to a group of Methodists for the purpose of building a church after they appealed to Reverend John Laughlin of the Berkeley Methodist Circuit.

By 1900 this frame church had been built of long leaf pine (Pinus palustris), the village’s namesake tree. The church remains active today.

Pinopolis Methodist Church is listed in the National Register as part of the Pinopolis Historic District South:

Pinopolis Historic District South, which contains thirteen properties, consists of the historic core of the planters retreat community of Pinopolis. The district contains numerous early to middle nineteenth century summer houses, the Gothic Revival influenced Pinopolis Methodist Church (ca.1900), and other later nineteenth century buildings. The buildings of the Pinopolis Historic District South are representative of the development of vernacular building forms and construction technology of the nineteenth century.

The absence of stylistic pretensions in most of the buildings is typical of pineland village architecture. Beginning in the late eighteenth century lowcountry planters sought respite near their plantations, in resorts like Pinopolis, from the fevers associated with the lowlands in the summer. With the decline of the planter classes after the war, many resort villages turned to commercial ventures for their livelihood, however this was not the case in Pinopolis. Preferring to preserve the quiet community atmosphere of their village, the residents of Pinopolis blocked several proposals that would have attracted development. This decision helped Pinopolis retain its integrity as a pineland village. The district’s properties also include some outbuildings.

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